Use a 4-quart slow cooker. Plop in the meat (frozen is fine), and add the onion and soy sauce. Pour in the entire can of cranberry sauce over the top. Do not add water. Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours, or on high for 5-6. If you are cooking on high, you may need to "help" the meat break apart by taking it out an hour or so before serving by cutting it into chunks, then returning to the sauce. I like it when the meat is tender and the juice has fully soaked in.

Serve over mashed potatoes, and with a green salad.

The Verdict.

This was a fantastic dinner, and since everything was already in the house, it was free!

how easy! i'll definately try it. yesterday i made the brown sugar chicken...i believe you guys call it candy chicken? once again WONDERFUL! i thickened the juices with cornstarch and poured it over stir-fry veggies and asian noodles. i'm using a smaller crockpot now and things are cooking better. thanks for the tips!

I'm sorry to ask you this, but I cannot figure out how to ask you a question on the Barnes and Noble discussion board! Here's my question, but I'll post it to the board if I figure out how. (Or are you allowed to post the question with the answer?)Is there a general rule to follow to "adapt" recipes to the slow cooker? For example, if there's a casserole dish that contains pasta or rice, meat, veggies, and sauces or cream of soups, is there a way to toss it all in (meat uncooked and possibly pasta or rice uncooked), and have it turn out? Thank you!

Peeking in from A Heart For Home (though I subscribe to you in my reader :>)) - this may sound funny, but I kinda miss the picture of you hugging your crockpot in your profile. (Slow cooker, I know - but that was back in the good ol' days when we could just say "crock pot") Thanks for all the super recipes!

to answer your question, I don't really have a formula for converting traditional recipes to the slow cooker. I just give it a try---sometimes it works really well, and sometimes it just doesn't. I realize this isn't terribly helpful, but that's truly how I did it. Saucey pasta casseroles such as lasagna seem to do the best in the slow cooker.

Stephanie, I made this last night (I used homemade cranberry sauce made with orange juice and agave nectar plus I sprinkled 1 packet of Lipton onion soup over the roast as well)....WOW! We loved it! The flavors blended so well and as you said, it's sweet but not too sweet.

This sounds delicious, but can you REALLY use frozen meat and get the same results? I'd usually cook a thawed roast for 8 hours on low so I'd like some other people's feedback on slow-cooking from frozen. Thanks!

Wow, nice twist on roast with the cranberries, I made mine with all your indgredients but cranberries/sause. Can't wait to try it with them next time. BTW, love your recipies and wonderful wit, have you considered a CROCKPOT cooking show???? Just saying!!!

I made this last night with a pork tenderloin. It was FANTASTIC. I can't wait to make it again!

Like Melissa, I also made a sauce. After straining off the fat I added some chicken stock (about 1.5 cups),then reduced by about half. It was a beautiful dark red color from the cranberries and tasted outstanding.

I make a cranberry chutney with cranberries, oranges, apples, rasins, etc for Thanksgiving. I had about 2 cups leftover and dumped it on top of a pork roast in the crock pot - so yummy! I just bought 2 bags of cranberries to freeze so I can make this again at other times during the year. Love your cookbook so much I have bought several for gift marking pages with sticky notes of what I have maade for friends & relatives - thanks!

Hey, I just saw you on Blabbing About Blogs!! Congrats on being featured - you definitely deserve it. I also just requested your book from the library and I have to WAIT to get it! Grrrr. I know, I should buy it. Hey, Christmas is coming up... ♥

I made this last night and this morning my mouth was watering. I couldn't wait for lunch. This was delicious! I added some ginger, garlic balsamic vinegar, and potatoes that I had on hand. This is a keeper.

I love reading your blog (and trying new recipes in my NEW crock) but I had a question about one line in this recipe. You mentioned plopping the meat in and if it was frozen that was okay. I don't know if it was just because my old crockpot was 15 years old (wedding presents do get old eventually!) but I put in some homemade frozen chili, hoping it would be nice and hot by evening, and lo and behold, when I got home, the bottom had broken out of my crockpot(completely), there was a sad mess of what had once been "dinner", and the only thing I could think of was someone had once told me not to put anything frozen in my crockpot. (Not that I had listened for the first 15 years I used it) Do you or any of your readers know what happened in this situation?

OK, so I don't eat meat, but this one was really tempting. So I tried it out with tofu and the results were delicious. I just substituted cubed, fried tofu for the meat, and I used a sauteed whole onion in slices. The results were amazing. I've been looking for something to substitute the cranberry chicken my husband used to love!The only thing I would change next time is try adding 1/4 cup of veggie broth or some sort of liquid to give it a little more juice. Your beef one looked fine, but I imagine since tofu doesn't have much natural juice, it was a bit on the dry side, though still great. And next time double or triple it, we were so sad there were no leftovers!

Amazingly delicious! Even my husband (who doesn't like cranberry sauce at all), loved it, and said that he felt the sauce just "brought out the flavor in the beef." All of the sauce got absorbed into the beef, making it the most tender stew beef ever. Thanks for another new family favorite. (That is also safe for my egg-, nut-, dairy, wheat-, sesame-allergic son).

i made this today - it was a little too sweet, but I think my only using 1.37 lb of beef roast was to blame. I used a cheap cut of roast which cooked up very tender and tasty. I think it would be great with sliced carrots as well.

I made this last night using a 3 lb. lean buffalo roast according to the given directions. As my hubby concluded and we all agreed, this would work better on a roast that had more marbling in it (our cut turned out dry). Also, it wasn't rich or spicy enough for our taste, so with the leftovers, I kicked it up a notch and added our own BBQ sauce to it which blended nicely with the cranberries. Made a GREAT pulled meat sandwich for hubby's lunch, and freezes well. So, out of 5 stars, I'd give this a 3, but with the right cut of roast (read: with more fat on it - seriously!), I'm going to try this again to see if I can't get that rating up to a 5.

I tried this tonight using pork roast and both my parents and I LOVED it! I was sad to see there was only one serving left over. I love leftovers!I did adapt it a bit. I used leftover homemade cranberry relish and a can of jellied cranberry sauce. It worked out perfect and tasted fantastic with the hint of orange from the homemade relish. Thanks for the great recipe!

I made this today, and it was great. I think next time I'll try the version in the comments here with added potatoes, to make a true one-pot meal. I assume if I do that I'll need to add a bit of water? Although I find many of your recipes to sound very nice, I am drawn toward the ones with fewer ingredients, I guess because I am lazy, and hate shopping. Thank you for this blog and all the great recipes, and I wish you every success.

We have a recipe that is nearly the same except you use a package of onion soup mix and 8 oz of Russian dressing with pork tenderloin. I haven't made it for a long time because of the dressing- not gluten free. What a great option!

didn't use one of my slow cookers for the roast, but used some of my freezer-stashed crockpot fresh cranberry sauce. Remember that? It never froze solid and I scooped some out to put on top of pork tenderloin. I laid some 'maple sugar' bacon on top and roasted it for about an hour at 400. At least the bacon crisped better in the roaster and it all tasted great.Thanks for all your inspiration, Steph!

I made this with venison and found it too sweet with canned cranberry sauce. So, like Colorado Sunflower, I went in a barbecue direction with the leftover sauce. To the recipe here I added: apple cider vinegar, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, and a drop of mustard. My sauce-loving daughter and I were then happy with the results.

I saw this on your blog and thought it sounded great, so I went out and bought a can of cranberry sauce. When I got home, I went from memory on your recipe and it turned into a thing of my own. Thank you for the idea! It tasted AMAZING!http://newmomscookbook.blogspot.com/2009/12/pork-shoulder-with-vegetables-and.html

Loved this recipe...I made it on Friday and we ate leftovers tonight over noodles and it was still great. Super easy. But canned cranberry sauce, even whole cranberry sauce, won't exactly "pour" so I had to spoon it and spread it. LOL

OK i am soooo all about this site!!! Thrilled to have found this-- cant wait to make this roast recipe.... this site along with my slow cooker could be life changing for me as a single(divorced! ICK) working mom of 3 boys!!

Wow - this turned out so well! I loved the gravy it produced. It was so tasty I reserved a cup of the gravy and froze it for my daughter who needs to eat gluten free.

Just curious - why the whole berry cranberry sauce? I would be inclined to use the regular jellied cranberry sauce next time as I am not used to seeing berries in my meat gravies. Both of my kids wouln't eat the berries (more of a visual/texture thing) either.

Just want to say thank you again for this recipe!!! Having an easy crockpot gluten-free dinner on a cold busy day with 3 kids is just PERFECT! It's become a weekly staple. Served over mashed potatoes and served with greens on the side (salad or green beans usually)

Mondays are hubby's night to cook. Right now his repetoire consists of only three meals. Sick of all of them, I suggested he find a simple recipe to try. Only 4 ingredients and the use of a crock pot fits that bill. After reading the first direction to your recipe: "plop the meat..." he was satisfied he could handle it. It was SO good. We will definitely be making this again.

I like the sound of this recipe! I am going to make it for dinner tonight. I just discovered your websie a couple days ago. I hope to be visiting here lots. We are just starting to live on a much tighter budget and crockpots seem made for economical eating!

I have to tell you...this was wonderful. My husband and boys (ages 15 and 9) could not tell me enough how good this was! They loved it. My husband said it is in the top 5 of favorite dinners! I used pork loin and wouldn't change a thing! Thank you so much!

When I explained to my family what was in it- soy sauce, cranberry sauce, onion flakes and meat- they weren't too impressed. I think I saw a, "Really? Are you serious?" look on their faces. But when they ate it, they absolutely LOVED it! Thanks so much, it was easy and delicious! My favorite kind of meal!

I made this one today and was EXTREMELY pleased. I used 3# of pork shoulder rump roast (that's what the tag said, and for $1.50 a pound, I'd buy it as long as it wasn't green). It was awesome, the house smelled great, and the boyfriend loved it too. Cooked on high for 5-6 hours. Served with these mashed potatoes -- http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/11/crockpot-mashed-potatoes-with-cream.html Paired well.

I made this tonight, and it was amazing. It sounded good, but it came out so much better than I expected. I used two large roasts and doubled the other ingredients, and it fed a crowd. Served with mashed mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus.

Just thought I'd finally give an update on using the frozen boneless chicken breasts -- it was fantastic. DH even said it was gourmet-like. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and everyone was happy. :o)

Tried this yesterday! LOVE! It was so yummy. I used Mrs. Dash onion & herb seasoning and lite soy sauce to try and make it a smidge healthier with less sodium involved. Super good! This will definitely be added to my lineup of yummy dinners. I have some leftover so I'll be pulling apart the remainder and baking it with BBQ sauce for some pulled pork sandwiches tonight. :)

Just bought the crockpot with the temperature probe - I had been overdoing a lot of cuts of meat based on your time estimates - I think my crock pot is just a little too big for what I was putting in it! Anyway, the temp probe one (purchased at your recommendation)is A LIFESAVER!!! Pork roasts are done on low, nice and tender, in 3-4 hours, but I haven't tried a beef roast yet.I can't wait to try this roast tomorrow in my new toy!!!

Cooked this for a small dinner get together and served with mashed blue cheese red potatoes and garlic asparagus. Rave reviews from my guests! I used a pork roast, which was a bit fatty but that was easy to fix with some trimming. Used onion soup mix instead of fresh because the husband doesn't like them. Will definitely make this again, and I'm sure it would be great as a freeze ahead meal.

My friend told me about this recipe and I didn't think anyone in my house would like it, but it gets rave reviews! It's definitely one of my new favorites! Thanks to all the people who posted their twists on the recipe too! Great ideas!

Just reading the comments is causing my mouth to water! I can't wait to try it. My husband and I love to cook and we got 3 slow cookers for wedding gifts... I think I found the perfect website to put them to good use!

Hi steph! Long time reader here! I made this today. I didn't have time to make the cranberry sauce from scratch ahead of time so I used your Homemade cranberry sauce recipe and just put it all in with my frozen beef roast. The results were the same as if I had done it separately then added it together. As usual another wonderful hit with the family! The only thing I changed was I added one jalapeño (not sliced but whole). Gave it a bit of spice but not much. Loved it! Thanks again for your wonderful ideas!

My wife made stew last night. It was okay - she also had a cranberry sauce on the side for anyone who wanted to add it to the stew. My wife and daughter put in the sauce which contained whole cranberries. My other daughter, my son, and myself scoffed at the idea of cranberries in stew.

Now I see that you have a whole recipe with only 4 ingredients and cranberries is one of them! Now I'm kicking myself for not trying it last night. Next time we make stew, I'm absolutely going to try it with cranberries - thanks for the post!